If Ever You're in my Arms Again
by B R Cary
Summary: Twenty years ago two people met and their lives were forever changed.
1. Twist of Fate

Title: If Ever You're in my Arms Again

Author: B R Cary

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. I just borrowed them for a little while.

Summary: Twenty years ago two people met and their lives were forever changed.

Author's Notes: I like "what if" stories. This one came to mind and it's an angle that I have never seen explored, that I am aware of.

The title of the story comes from the song "If Ever You're in my Arms Again" by Peabo Bryson. The song came out in 1984 (very important to the story) and the lyrics REALLY fit this story.

The story will take place in 2004 during the forth season of the show, but, as I've mentioned, the year 1984 is very important. Lorelai is still getting ready to open the Dragonfly Inn and Rory is off at Yale, but Luke never married Nicole and Lorelai is not dating Jason.

Chapter 1 – Twist of Fate

The year was 1984. People were searching for Spock along with the rest of the crew of the Enterprise, while others were searching for The Temple of Doom Still more people were "Dancing in the Dark" while leading "The Glamorous Life". And crowds of people were uttering, "Who you gonna call?" But in the midst of it all, two people met. Two people from different worlds who both wanted to escape from them. Two people who didn't know their meeting would change their lives in ways they hadn't begun to imagine.

Xxxxxxx

Lorelai rolled over and smacked the alarm. She could not believe it was morning already. It seemed like she had just gone to sleep. Work at the Inn was beginning to wear on her. She loved her job, but there were times she wished she had a nice, normal, less stressful one.

Sighing, Lorelai rolled out of bed and headed toward the shower. As she stood under the spray, she tried to wake herself up. She never had been a morning person, but the stress of trying to get the Inn up and running just added to her morning fatigue. Coffee, she needed coffee and lots of it.

Getting out of the shower, Lorelai began to dry herself off. As she did, she spotted her tattoo in the mirror, the tattoo no one knew she had. Well, no one but the few men she had slept with since . . . Will. Sighing again, she told herself not to go there because thinking of him would only cause her to want what she couldn't have. But despite her pleadings with herself, she felt herself begin to think back on those days, to recall the innocence of ones first love. No matter what she did, she still missed him, still wondered what had happened to him, still wondered why he left without so much as a goodbye.

Lorelai wiped the tears that had started to form. She pulled her thoughts away from where they were heading. She would not allow herself to go there. What was done was done. She couldn't change the past no matter how hard she tried. She finished getting ready and headed out to her car with the intentions of going to Luke's for coffee, but as she when she got outside, a surprise greeted her. The owner of said diner was currently not at his establishment, but standing in front of her car looking under the hood. "Uh, Luke. May I ask what you are doing?"

Luke straightened up from where he was currently fiddling with something Lorelai had no idea the name for was and turned toward her. "You mentioned last night when you were at the diner that your jeep was making a weird noise, so I thought I would come look at it for you."

"You didn't have to do that," Lorelai said, smiling despite herself. Most people thought Luke was grumpy and anti-social, but she knew better. True, Luke had a low tolerance for annoyance, but deep down he was a big softie and he had always been good to her and Rory.

"Well, I couldn't have you crash into an innocent citizen."

Lorelai knew Luke well enough to realize it was a cover. He hated when people pointed out his kind gestures to him. He much more liked to stay under the radar. "No, we couldn't have that. But really, Luke, this is very sweet of you."

Luke blushed slightly, but answered, "I am not sweet. Nothing about me is sweet."

"Sure you are. You just don't want anyone to know that," Lorelai shot back. Then a devilish grin crossed her face. "And don't worry, some women prefer their men salty."

Another blush crossed Luke's face. "Ah, jeez." He then turned back to the car. As he turned, Lorelai noticed a grease mark on the side of his blue, flannel shirt.

"Luke, wait a moment. You have a grease stain on your shirt."

Luke looked down. "Where?"

Lorelai walked over and pointed to the rather large mark. "Right there. Why don't you let me wash it for you so the spot doesn't set up." She noticed the look of surprise Luke was giving her. "What? You forget, mister, that I used to work as a maid. I know my way around laundry."

"Here. Thanks." Luke took of the shirt, revealing a form-fitting tank top underneath.

Lorelai was at once memorized by the sight of Luke's arms. She couldn't recall ever seeing him in a tank top. Heck, she couldn't recall ever seeing him in anything but a long sleeved shirt of some sort. Then something caught Lorelai's eye that nearly caused her to stop breathing. There on Luke's right arm was a tattoo. And not just any tattoo but one that appeared to be a stylized baseball diamond. For a moment she couldn't take her eyes off it, then the implications of what it meant sunk in and she felt like she was going to pass out. This could not be happening. This could not mean what she thought it meant, but she knew that it did. Suddenly, Luke's voice brought her out of her stupor.

"Lorelai, what's wrong?"

Lorelai knew she had to get away. She needed time to think and process all this. Reaching out, she took the shirt from Luke's hand. "Nothing," she said quickly. "I just remembered I have a meeting to go to at the Inn. I'll just throw this in my washer and be off."

Luke reached out to stop her. "But I have your jeep tore apart right now. Wait a moment and I'll drive you."

"No!" Lorelai practically shouted. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "No, that's all right. I'll walk. It's such a nice day outside." With that she turned and ran inside, leaving a confused Luke behind her.

2nd Author's Note:

Don't worry. This is not one of those stories where something bad happened in Luke and Lorelai's past or he did something to her that she suddenly remembers. I promise. After all, Luke wouldn't do that to Lorelai or anyone else, for that matter. I just wanted to clear that up right away.

The chapter title comes from the song "Twist of Fate" by Olivia Newton-John. To keep with the whole 1984 thing, each of the chapter titles will be named for one of the Top 100 songs from that year.


	2. Author Note

Author's Note:

I haven't forgotten about this story. I didn't have Office on my computer at home, so the only place I could type my stories was at work and only when my boss was at the home office. ; ) Well, I now have a laptop and it will have Office so it will be MUCH easier to type stories from here on in.

Thanks to all those who have expressed an interest in the story. I am working on the next chapter now, so hopefully I'll be able to update by this weekend.

BR Cary


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